Copts
ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa
Copts (Coptic: ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ, romanized: NiRemenkēmi enKhristianos; Arabic: أقباط, romanized: Aqbāṭ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to Egypt who have inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptian population, descended from the ancient Egyptians. Copts predominantly follow the Coptic Orthodox Church, with a minority in the Coptic Catholic Church. They are the largest Christian population in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. Copts account for roughly 5 to 15 percent of the population of Egypt.
Originally referring to all Egyptians, the term Copt became synonymous with native Christians in light of Egypt's Islamization and Arabization after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 639–646 AD. Copts have historically spoken the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian that was spoken in late antiquity.
Following the Arab Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, the treatment of the Coptic Christians who did not convert ranged from relative tolerance to open persecution. Historically, the Copts suffered from waves of persecution giving way to relative tolerance in cycles that varied according to the local ruler and other political and economic circumstances. Themes of persecution and martyrdom constitute a significant part of Coptic identity due to historic and current conflicts.
Most Copts adhere to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Church.
“Copts” enters the record as ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Copts, ethnoreligious and group can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q146744. The Library of Congress control number is sh85032431. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Copts” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.